My wife and I were both raised on Nebraska cattle ranches and grew up with lots of horses and ponies to ride. Our parents were as interested in the horses that were used in the cattle work as they were in the cattle they raised. We were married in 1980 and have three girls, Rachel, Adrien and Ashley.

In 1983 we saw a horseman that changed our lives, this was Ray Hunt. As we were told about the clinic he was having we were thinking, "What could this man do that others couldn't? What could be so special about someone coming to our area to work horses?" That was something that people did everyday in our area as a part of their job. If you needed to do something with your cows you went and saddled a horse and did the job. That was the fun part of ranching. My wife went to the clinic the first day with her brother and when she came home we went out in the corral with some horses and tried to do what she had seen that day. We both went the next day and we were hooked. This man could read horses, he could talk to them like they were human. Of course we know this is not true, but he had spent so much time working on these ideas with the help of his friend Tom Dorrance that it seemed the horses could talk to him.

I have often said if I had to ride the way I rode before Ray helped me with the understanding of the horse, I wouldn't ride. I was completely blessed in the opportunity that came about as I was able to talk to Tom Dorrance on the phone and meet him in California at that time. Just to set and talk with Tom in his house would help your riding. I watched Ray and learned what could be done with a horse, not what to do with a horse. Then I could call Tom on the phone and he would help me understand any problem that I came up against.

Two things about what they have started have changed. Ray did not try to teach a Ray Hunt method, he wanted to teach an understanding of the horse for the good of the horse. The second thing is Tom helped me for hours on the phone and never charged me.

Always ask yourself if what you have seen someone do with a horse makes sense. Then if you try to do this same thing with your horse make sure and value his opinion. What you and him think together is what is important, not what I think.

In 1984 my wife and I started traveling, first with one girl to Kansas, then two to Colorado, then three to Oklahoma and Texas and back to Colorado. One two to three month period at this time we put the first rides on over 120 colts, that was a learning experience that I wouldn't want to be without, but at this time in my life I wouldn't want to repeat.

In the three years we spent in Colorado we were introduced to jumping and that has been our main goal with our own horses and the horses we are collecting, along with a  few others. I was fortunate in Colorado to be able to work with about every breed and most of the ways that horses are used. I have often thought about the people in Colorado and how they let me practice on their horses, for that I am thankful. I always looked for the horse and people that were having problems and not for a client. I can remember more than one sleepless night at that time. After working with a troubled horse and not getting through to the horse like I thought I should I would lay awake and I would go over and over what I could have done different. You see, I knew someone could have done it better, and I personally had met two of those people. Ray and Tom. If you have trouble with a horse and it doesn't bother you, do something else. One of my favorite quotes is from Ray's book "you are not working on the horse, you are working on yourself".

After Colorado we spent three years in New Jersey and on the east coast and traveling from there. It was at this time that I was a clinician at the Pony Club Nationals. Then we came back to Nebraska for the past ten years to raise our girls as we had been raised, with cows and horses. Ashley the youngest will be a senior in college next year and they have all assured me that they do not need me so I can travel again.

--Kevin Wescott